BTO migration blog

Spring and autumn are exciting times for anyone who watches birds. Here on this blog we will make predictions about when to expect migrant arrivals and departures, so that you know when and where to see these well-travelled birds.

Friday, 24 April 2015

Migration in full swing – almost

Migrants have been piling in during the last week – Willow Warbler counts have reached
three figures on several days at south coast watchpoints, there have been small
flocks of Ring Ouzels on the east
coast and Cuckoos have reached Scotland
but it still feels like many of our summer visitors are still thin on the
ground. Where are all the Sand Martins?
And there really ought to be more Lesser
Whitethroats than there are. The next week or so should unveil whether some
birds are just held up further south or whether they had a bad winter.

Even though some species feel a little low in numbers most
species are now here. There have been one or two Nightjars during the week,
Swift numbers have been steadily growing, a flock of fifty birds were
counted at Longham Lakes, Dorset, earlier in the week, and the first Spotted Flycatchers have also arrived.

Great Spotted Cuckoo by Cliff Woodhead

Southern overshoots have been well represented, mostly by
the Hoopoe; there could have been
between fifty and one hundred in the country. It is difficult to know how many Black-winged Stilts turned up, eight
were seen together in Kent, with several ones and twos later in the week that
could have been some of these birds dispersing, or different birds altogether.
A Great Spotted Cuckoo was found in
Wales, and at least six Bee-eaters
graced southern counties for a few days. Given the easterly airflow there were
few birds from that direction, almost certainly because the winds actually
originated out in the Atlantic north of Britain and came down through the North
Sea and into the east coast and not from the continent.

Purple Heron by Northeast Wildlife.co.uk

The forecast for the next week is a little more unsettled
than the last week, with westerly winds dominating all week. At times these
will be quite light and during these periods birds will arrive. So, it will be
more of the same although Ring Ouzel
numbers will definitely be much lower. The last week of April is often marked
by the mass arrival of Swifts and
looking at the forecast there doesn’t seem to be much that will hold them up,
so look out for them in the next few days. More of the BTO Cuckoos ought to make the last leg of their journey and, fingers
crossed, Chris the Cuckoo (tagged in 2011) will arrive back. You can follow the
Cuckoos here as they complete their journeys. As far as rarities go, I’m hoping
for a Purple Heron, or Little Bittern on my local patch.